Dept. Of Defense Pays $29 Per Gallon For Fuel

Get ready for a shocker. Or not a shocker – depending on where you’re coming from.

According to a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, the Dept. of Defense has an alternative fuels program and through that program it pays $29 per gallon of alternative fuel – roughly 9 times the cost of petroleum based fuels.

The DOD attributes this expensive program to getting less dependent on oil and that it is a “prudent insurance policy against future oil supply disruptions and high prices.”

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How does paying 9 times more for fuel accomplish the goal of avoiding high prices? While the strategic need for diversification in energy is a good one, we are dubious about the real agenda here.

More from Free Beacon:

From 2007 to 2014, the DOD purchased two million gallons of the alternative fuel. Despite the low cost of petroleum fuels, the DOD has declared that one of its strategic energy goals is to expand its energy supply options through investing in alternative liquid fuels that are derived from non-petroleum feedstocks.

“Two of DOD’s military departments—the Navy and the Air Force – have also established usage goals for alternative fuels,” states GAO. “The Department of the Navy’s guidance sets a goal of deriving 50 percent of total energy consumption from alternative sources—including alternative fuels—by 2020, which, according to Navy estimates, would require using about 336 million gallons of alternative fuels (both naval distillate and jet fuels) annually by 2020.”

DOD also has plans to deploy a “Great Green Fleet” by 2016, which will include ships and aircraft that are fueled by alternative fuels as well as other energy conservation measures.